Chapter 144: An Excruciating Method

Mezal was awakened from his daze.

He felt incredible horror and pain as if something was peeled off his skin.

Upon severing the rocks, Mezal felt a great pain that assailed him. It was as if every cell in his body was attacked and was undergoing a form of splitting.

Several wounds slashed out, and Mezal bled with great pain.

"AHHH!" The great pain caused Mezal to scream in pain.

The surrounding Champions who accompanied the trip immediately reacted and ran towards the carriage where Mezal was.

"Mezal!" Ordeus shouted as he opened the carriage door.

When he saw him, great rage occurred.

"Who did this?!" Ordeus shouted.

Mezal was in a very pitiful state. He was bleeding all over and even fell down from his seat.

Mezal didn't have the strength even to lift himself up.

"That.... darned God!" Mezal cursed. The cutting of those stones wasn't just symbolic. Something happened in his body.

In the Nephilim Sealing Mountain, Branze and Aron also felt great pain.

The already fainted Branze convulsed and shouted with great pain.

Aron fell and cried as well.

Petra was shocked at what happened.

"Bring them into the Temple! Quick! You, Lizard Champion! Carry them!" Petra reached out at the Lizard and grasped his head.

The Lizard taught he would die, but suddenly, a strange fire was placed in him.

"If these two die, Cornerstone will know. And once he tells me, I will explode that energy! But serve as well, and that power can be absorbed and help you level up!" Petra explained.

The Lizard Champion was stunned.

"The Temple can heal them?" The Lizard Champion asked.

"Yes! Go now. Ask one of the knights where the Temple is!"

The Lizard Champion nodded. He moved with great speed and took Branze and Aron and was about to nab a nearby knight.

"Don't. I can tell you where the Temple is. Just bring us there..." Aron spoke.

The Lizard Champion was surprised how Aron was still awake and nodded.

He sprinted out and ran fast.

"Damn it! What happened? Branze!" Aron called out as the Lizard carried him.

"I... don't know... Father must not have listened to my warning. Do you remember... the vision?" Branze asked.

"... I think I do. But I don't."

"It must be... the Path of Foresight. You have a lower level of this compared to me. So you may not remember the vision. You must have seen... Ancient Sword God Hyperion Steel. He claims that we are... his descendants."

The moment Branze explained this, it was as if Aron recalled everything, and the full vision came to sight.

"That- That's right! I remember now! The battle against End!"

"I think... you saw a different vision than what I saw... We were too hasty... The Ancient God must expend huge energy... that takes a lot of damage to his soul or whatever he has... He complained that I was too fast... And that the next person must take his time to go there..."

"The next person?"

"The last of the Steele. Our father..."

"... What are you talking about?"

"This attack... It feels similar to the attack that God made when he divided all of creation."

"Oh right! Your right! These cuts are something that transcends the physical!"

"Father... must have seen that vision and prompted that God to expend his powers again. He must have been... pissed off!"

"You should have warned father!"

"I did!" Branze frowned.

"How many times did I tell you, but the warning at the first part of the message! You must have included the warning on the last part, didn't you? You were so excited you explained the process of harnessing the force energy that got us into that vision in the first part of the message, didn't you?!"

"We-well... that's because...!"

"You idiot brother! Because of that, father followed whatever you taught him, and of course, he'd awaken that power! We must have pissed off that God that he attacked us!"

"N-not necessarily! He-He... He must have used this means to show father severing and attacked us so we can understand what True Cut is!"

"True cut?"

"True Cut with a capital T and C. As in a proper noun! That's what I named that attack!"

"Proper noun?" The Lizard champion murmured as he continued to think about the proper noun. He hadn't heard of this all of his life, and now he heard of it twice in one day.

"In any case... I hope dad's alright." Branze sighed with a worried expression.

"He'll be alright. Fate's not after us anyway. Knowing our old man, he will use these wounds to his advantage."

"Master Sword Experts. We are approaching Golem City. Will they...?"

"Relax. They listen to our orders."

"Good." The Lizard Champion nodded.

As he approached, he was stunned.

Rock Golems littered the entire place. There were roughly the same amount of Clay Golems in the area.

"The Golems! There are more Rocks and Iron Golems now!" The Lizard Champion exclaimed. He knew the power of Golems.

"The lizard race vastly underestimates them! They are focusing on improving the quality of their golems and not caring about their lifespan?"

"Oh, their lifespan has already improved. The Temple helped refill roughly 20 to 30 percent of all the lifespans if we combine the lifespans of all golems. This is why they are focusing on improving the quality of each Golem." Branze answered.

It was also intriguing that the Golem city had training programs where all Golems drilled their specific battle tactics. The Golems had also mined several large stones that were being hauled.

Caravans were also present that made the hauling easier.

"The Golems are going to war?" The Lizard Champion asked.

"Sort of. The Challenge of the Lizard Lord has already begun, hasn't it?" Branze smiled.

"Starting to feel a little scared for your race?"

"A little. The Golem King seems stronger than ever. And it looks like the other Jeweled Golems have awakened too. I want to ally with you!" The Lizard Champion declared.

"Oh? So willingly? I thought Lizard Champions have better pride than this?" Aron laughed.

"I am the last of my tribe here. The ways of Lizard is a path of devouring and killing. No one aimed to ally with the Golems because they can't be reasoned with. But now, it's different."

"I see. Well, we're a pretty tolerating family. My son is a vampire after all."

"A vampire?"

"Yeah. He has a Coven of vampires. And he's stronger than us." Aron sighed.

The Lizard champion was silent. He kept carrying the two and pondered. One of the bigger reasons why he wanted to ally with them, was not because of the Golems, but because of the Sword Experts. And as they were casually talking, the Lizard Champion believed their crazy claims. These two were descendants of a god! That alone convinced him to join them. And yet, they had vampires that were stronger than these Sword Experts?

The golems watched with curiosity at the passing lizard. Some would give friendly waves at Aron or Branze, while others asked if they were alright.

Branze and Aron kept answering their fans to the bewilderment of the Lizard Champion. He was largely ignored.

"Perhaps these golems think it's normal because of the vampires?" The Lizard champion guessed as he passed through the Golem City.

Back in the peak of Airom Vagat...

The sensation of what true cutting was amazed Mezal. The Sword Force used on that attack was profoundly different than how he used it.

Several priests and healers were around him.

The group was horrified at the state of Mezal. Who could have done this?

"That power... It felt as if... it could even sever and cut Fate!" Mezal mumbled.

"Mezal?!"

The faint mumbling of Mezal made Ordeus react.

"It seems that God gave me his last gift in a very... painful way." Mezal thought. As his vision returned, he saw the people around him.

Various healing spells were cast, but they could not immediately close the wounds. The priest and mages were worried at this sight.

"This looks problematic. But I probably can use my wounds to an advantage! That's right! I'll do just that!" Mezal decided as he slowly forced himself to sit up.

"It seems that... I have worried everyone." Mezal laughed.

"What happened? Who attacked you?"

"Attack? No. This is... an excruciating method to acquire more power." Mezal laughed.

"Acquire more power?"

"As I said... my lifespan is nearing its end. The power of the Force Paladin has reached its peak. But apart from the holy energy and the defense, I need power. Striking power. Especially since we don't know what enemies m sons have, I need power to charge in the front lines and fight."

"What did you do?"

"Does anyone have the gauge spell? Please check for yourself what Blessings I've received or what job class I have." Mezal asked.

"I already did. You are simply a Classed Knight without any class. But you managed to create a special job, the Force Paladin, through your own forceful means." One of the Champions stated.

"Good. Then why can I wield power... of a Ravager?" Mezal laughed as he revealed the thick Force Energy.

The group was stunned.

"Impossible...! How could you do that without the blessings exclusive to Ravagers?!" One Champion exclaimed.

"Or how about... a Quick Blade?" Mezal laughed again, and the Force circulation changed.

"It's weak and clearly lacks training... But it's definitely there! He is a Quick Blade!" A Quick Blade marveled.

"For my next trick, ho about an Archer? Which do you want to see? A True Aim? Or A Quick Bow? Oops. I did both." Mezal laughed.

The Champions trembled as the power of a True Aim and a Quick Bow archer appeared.

"But don't be too impressed. I believe that If I survive whatever is down that mountain, I will only have one month to live. But the Champions that aid me in rescuing my son the most... I will grant the secret of how I achieved this unblessed ability to diverge on those paths. It's cruel and will probably kill most who try. But it is an interesting power. I assure you the wisdom of Branze Steele is greater than mine. Once I pass this to him, in three years, no! Two years. He can improve this and make it more efficient. He did so with the Force Paladin. He can do so with this!" Mezal vowed.

The Champions watched in amazement. Some scuffled to take another Message Talisman to send to their corresponding kingdoms.

Mezal and the Steele family's value has once more skyrocketed. All Champions regardless of their previous hatred or apathy towards Mezal, gave the reports that he must be recruited.